Lacing means



May 19, 19 25. 1,538,454

I s. TRAWYINSKI LACING MEANS Filed June 12. 1924 Fetented May 1.9, 1925 e 'srnrnen rnawmsnr,

i LAornG Application filed June 12,

To all whom it may concern:

.lie it known'that I, STEPHAN TRAWTNSKI, a citizen of Poland,residingat Chicago, in the county of Cool: and State oflllinois, have invented certain new and useful'Improvements in Lacing Means, of which the following is a. description.

My invention belongs to that general class of devices known as lacing means, and re lates more particularly to a lacing means adapted to be used on footwear, but'which can be applied to otherdesired: articles such as gloves, dress plackets, bottoms of the legs of riding breeches, and such; other places on e which it is desired to-have a lacing, and'to which the construction herein described'is applicable. The invention has among its objects the production of a lacing means of the kind described that is simple and durable, attractiveqetlicient and economical. It has particularly as an object the production of a durable lacing means which, while particularly secure, will nevertheless be com-- fortable and healthful, particularly when used on footwear where the same will have a. partial giveaway during walking or moving the foot, thereby not interfering with the circulation in. the foot. Many other obsects andv advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosuresherein given. 7 V i To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangen'ient' and C0111, bin-ation of parts herein shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

in the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts: K a V Fig.1 is a front elevation of one type of shoe embmlyingthe invention;

Fig. a perspective detail with por tion cut away and portion folded back in order to more clearly show the construction; Fig. 3 is a plan'viewshowing a portion of the upper before folding back at the edge; p I

r Fig; is a sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4: of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the improved fasteners;

' F 6 is a similar view of a plurality of fasteners made in a unitarystructure; and

Fig. 7 is a plan View one of the fastener the hole. Obviously,

entree :srerssrarsur other.

or cnroeso, ILLINOIS.

eans 1924. Serial No. 719,588.

blanks before completing the forming operation.

leferring to the drawings in which the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, 1 represents a shoe of suitable style, size and material, provided with an upper portion 2, the height of the same depending upon whether the shoe is a low shoe, commonly used high shoe,or what is known as a high top shoe, in which the upper extends well up on the leg.

Referring particularlyto Fig. '2, 3re] )resents one of the front edges of the upper at the opening in the front of the shoe, which is turned over and back, that is, folded back'at 6 against the inner side of the upper. The turned over edge at the ex treme edge may be slit or cut as indicated at 5, if desired, so as to facilitate the shaping of the shoe and make the same more easily fitted. At the point of the fold, the upper is provided with the desired number of slits or openings 4, which'are of a shape and size to fit the fastener or eyelet, the holes being generally so located that they are in or at the line of fold. i i c K The fasteners or eyeletsconsist of an eyeley portion or loop 7, provided with a laterally extending base portion constituting the eye, the These eyelts aregenerally made of 'metal and enameled, nickele-d, or otherwise finished. but the same may,rhowever, be made in any manner and of any material suitable for the purpose. ple and inexpensive to stamp the same out ofa sheet into a blank as indicated in Fig. 7,

I find it particularly sim- 8 at either end I shank and the bas i and thence fold and form the same as shown in Fig. 5. When so stamped and formed, it is preferred toshape the eye portion of the same as i dicated at 10. lheloop portion is so shaped up as to form the opening 9 of size to receive a lacing. The base portion 8 is preferably constructed with the shoulders ll. lVhen formed as indicated, and the shank and base portions 8 are brought together, when the eyelet is inserted from the inner side outwardly through the opening 4, the shoulders 11 engage with the material at the fold at either side of the opening and prevent the eyelet from being drawn through it is immaterial in the operation of the device whether the eyelet member is a single cast piece or of formed sheet metal as described,

I have illustrated a modified type of fastener in Fig. 6, in which two connecting eyelets 7--7 are shown, 8 being the connecting base portions corresponding to the parts 8 in the single eyelet. There may be any desired number formed together in this manner, or they may be all made this way or with a plurality connected together and then severed, as desired.

After the eyelets have been seated, as shown in Fig. 2, the turned over edge portion 3 is stitched or otherwise secured to the part 2. I have also shown a strip 12 which I generally prefer to arrange, as shown, at either edge covering the eyelets at the inner side. This reinforces the construction, and I have illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 how the parts may be stitched together as indicated at l-ll. In addition to the stitching, or as an equivalent therefor, cement or any equivalent fastening means may be employed. m

The shoe is provided with the usual tongue, not necessary to describe in detail herein. Such other reinforcing means at the openings or on the upper as may be found desirable may be used. this to a large extent depending upon the kind or style of shoe and the use for which it is intended.

By the use of the new construction herein shown, applied to footwear, lacing becomes much quicker and more convenient than in the present styles. The foot may be placed in the shoe and the parts tightly laced up by an upward pull of the lacing without pulling the shoe out of shape and without pulling the shoe strings through individual eyelets or hooks. To unlace, it is only necessary to unloosen the lace at the top by putting the fingers between the laces and then pull the shoe off. the same" substantially unlacing itself. When lacing has a partial give away while the foot is bent or flexed in taking a step allowing the blood to circulate properly. By shaping the eyelet substantially as shown. a smooth face without sharp corners is provided for the lace so that the lace itself has a substantially long life without wearing or cutting as is customary with present constructions where the lace is bent back and forth in a series of sharp bends. lVhile. as

walking, the improved I have mentioned, the particular eyelets shown are made of sheet metal and may be of cast metal, any suitable material for the purpose may be employed, and in this connection I. have successfully formed the same out of stiff, durable leather. Generally speaking, a material is desired which will be of long life and will become smooth and polished with wear at the interior of the eyelet.

Having thus described my invention. it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a lacing means of the kind describe: the combination with a sheet of materia folded back upon itself and having a slit cut in the folded edge. the folded portion lJQ- ing secured to the body of the sheet. or an eyelet member formed of an integral s of metal bent back upon itself to form a base of superimposed layers and to form a closed eye. the eye projecting through said slit and the base having shoulders engaging the inner side of said folded material.

2. In a lacing means of the kind described. the combination with a sheet of material folded back upon itself and having a plu ralitv of slits cut in the folded edge. the

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folded oor ion bein secured to the bed r of the sheet, of an eyelet member formed of an integral sheet of metal bent back upon. itself to form a base of superimposed layers and to form a plurality of closed eyes, the eyes projecting through said slits and the base having shoulders engaging the inner side of said folded material.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STEPHAN TRAJVIITSKI. lVitnesses Roy IV. HILL, BERNICE l). JACKSON. 

